Connection and Community for Creativity

Today, I am thrilled to welcome guest bloggers Lori Wostl and Lorri Flint from ArtCamp for Women, sharing with us about Connection and Community for Creativity.  Read on!  ~ Dea Fischer

Good morning, Lori and Lorri here from ArtCamp for Women.  In November we decided that our motto and theme for 2013 would be Connection. Accordingly, we are organizing our business and our activities around expanding our connections in the Mixed-media Art world, our community of choice.

We give our huge thanks to Dea for inviting us as guests to her blog and for collaborating with us in our year of connection and community. Let me introduce us.

Lorri Flint is the numbers and fiber/fabric expert, and I, Lori Wostl, am the writer and paper genie. We are completely cross-pollinated in paper and fabric, glue and thread. We are both teachers and life-long learners. We are both hugely interested in leading lives of passion and engagement.

Connection is basically why we are here (as humans), and we are neurologically hard-wired for it. For an inspiring and deeper look into connection – and how it affects us all – watch this TED talk with Brene’ Brown.  She states that what allows people to be connected is their belief that they are worthy to be connected and that it takes courage and compassion to be who you are with your whole heart. To be seen and known as a part of this community, as individuals and as ArtCamp for Women, and to say that this is essential – feels a bit risky.  But Ms. Brown also says that connection is a result of authenticity and being willing to let go of who we are told we should be – for the benefit of who we actually are.

As we women move past the years of primary motherhood, and as we are done with carving out niches in our careers, we find ourselves with tons of opportunities, lots of experience and very few role models.  This is true for most women, and it is true for us, (Lori and Lorri aka ArtCamp for Women).

Lorri and I are choosing to make our stand as women who are passionate about our art communities, and we are working to provide other women with a place to explore their own self expression. We all know that inspiration without action is merely entertainment, right?  So what actions are we taking? We are:

• Providing women with a place to explore the world of mixed-media art without the distractions of everyday life – ArtCamp for Women;
• Interviewing Mixed-media artists and sharing the interviews on our blog and in our newsletters;
• Contributing and making ourselves known on blogs of those Artists;
• Holding a drawing for giving away an ArtCamp for Women session;
• Creating weekly Art Journal Project prompts and making them available for free (link);
• Creating mixed-media art tutorials and making them available for free on a regular basis;
• Contributing each year to organizations that are working on Women’s Issue.

We will add more actions as we come up with them. We would also love it if you would leave a comment to let us know what actions you are coming up with to connect to your Art Community.

Thanks for reading and commenting, and again thank you Dea for playing and connecting with us!